Popular discourse in the US often speaks of “anti-American dictators” and “aggressive autocrats.” The group of world leaders who currently top the US enemies list is always portrayed as “pushing toward war” with their “hostility.”

While this is the portrait that is presented, the majority of the
states in conflict with the US in the current period have assumed
this role with extreme reluctance.

The United States with its huge military and its central role in
the world economy is a country that no sensible world leader
would genuinely want a conflict with. Any rational head of state
would want trade, diplomatic relations, and cooperation with the
US. The problem is that the US will simply not allow
independent-minded states to be at peace with it.

We have recently seen examples of states going to extreme lengths
to appease and befriend the United States, and only to be met
with more hostility.

The WAVE rejected

World media portrayed former Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad as an “extremist.” His words were distorted
at great length, and almost everything he did was portrayed as an
example of his “anti-Americanism”,
“belligerence” and his “desire to destroy
Israel.”

The new President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan
Rouhani, has made gigantic efforts to improve relations with the
United States. Rouhani’s debut speech at the UN did not speak of
the United States with hatred, but instead called for an alliance
for a “World Against Violence and Extremism (WAVE).” He
emphasized that there was no “Iranian threat” and Iran
had no desire to develop nuclear weapons. He called for a new
period of peace and cooperation.

While the US seemed to always blame Ahmadinejad for their policy
towards the Islamic Republic, the accommodating, peace-seeking
words of Rouhani did not result in an end to US hostility. The
illegal, unilateral sanctions against Iran have not been lifted.

Just months after Rouhani told the General Assembly of his desire
for peace and cooperation, the United States even took the
unprecedented action of denying Iran the right to choose its UN
representative. The US claimed that the new UN Ambassador
appointed to represent Iran, Hamid Aboutalebi, had been involved
in the 1979 student takeover of the US embassy. With no clear
evidence to support this claim, the US barred the Iranian
representative from entering the country. This was an extreme
diplomatic attack on Iran, violating the obligations of the
United States under the United Nation host country treaty.

Though the Islamic Republic opened a hand of friendship to the
United States, calling for joint anti-terrorism efforts and new
negotiations to secure a lasting peace, the response of the US
has been to become even more viscously hostile.

The destruction of Libya

Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of Libya, was also portrayed as an
“anti-American dictator”, but the last decade of his
life, before he was brutally killed, he engaged in great efforts
to satisfy the United States.

In 2004, Libya began extensive cooperation with the United
States. The Libyan government carried out mass privatizations and
began work with US and British corporations. The Libyan
government cooperated with Bush and his “war on terror.”

This did not stop the United States from backing the brutal
insurgency as they kidnapped, tortured, and murdered people in
the country. As the US backed insurgents were continuously
defeated on the battlefield, the US joined with the other NATO
countries in bombing Libya in order to secure their victory.

The efforts of Gaddafi to cooperate with the United States and
cease hostilities clearly fell on deaf ears. Though Gaddafi was
praised by the Bush administration for his cooperation with the
war on terror, and for destroying his chemical weapons, the
United States still happily facilitated the violent destruction
of Libya.

Libya once had the highest life expectancy on the African
continent. In a climate where water is scarce, Libya had the most
efficient water system, with pipes under the ground. Libya was
known for its free education, and its widely accessible medical
care. This has all been destroyed. The country is ruin.

The US regime change operation clearly did not take place because
Gaddafi was “belligerent” or “Anti-American.”
It happened after he spent over half a decade accommodating,
negotiating with, and doing all he could to please the leaders of
the United States and Britain.

The continuing Syrian bloodbath

The Syrian Arab Republic, like Libya, and the Islamic Republic of
Iran, has no desire for war against the United States. The Syrian
Arab Republic cooperated with Bush during his “war on
terror.” It also carried out many economic reforms. Much to
the delight of Wall Street, the country is far from the
economically centralized Arab nationalist state it was a two
decades ago.

Yet, these measures are not enough. They have not stopped the
United States from backing a brutal, violent insurgency campaign.
The United States, along with its allies in Turkey, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, and Jordan have armed and trained extremists as they wage
war against the Syrian government. They slaughter, torture, and
kidnap with the United States and its gulf-state proxies paying
the bill.

This campaign was not unleashed on Syria because President Assad
was “aggressive” or “hostile.” President Assad
was known for his moderation, and prior to the civil war, he
often cooperated with the United States.

As over 100,000 are dead, and millions are displaced living in
refugee camps, the Syrian government has called for peace talks
to end the fighting. The insurgents keep killing. The insurgents
also boycotted the recent election, making clear that they were
not interested in achieving their aims through peaceful or legal
means.

‘State sponsors of terrorism’

When portraying a regime as “hostile”, the US often
accuses it of being a “state sponsor of terrorism.”
Recently, it seems the cause of anti-terrorism is being
championed, not by the US, but by those in conflict with it.

The Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari has
pointed out that forces Obama claims to be fighting in Nigeria,
and are now considering fighting in Iraq, are being supported by
the US in Syria. Syria has joined Russia and Iran, in calling for
a global mobilization against terrorism and violent sectarianism.
It is the United States, and its allies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
and Jordan that are arming and training the sectarian terrorists
who currently plague Syria and Iraq. The forces US leaders dubbed
“Al-Qaeda” and “Islamic Extremists” in the aftermath of 9/11, and
now working with the US.

Likewise, the US-backed regime in Kiev is dependent on
Anti-Russian extremists like the infamous “right sector”
to carry out its “anti-terrorism” operation in the East.
While the US backed government has absorbed ultra-right wing
militias based on ethnic hatred into its national guard, Russia
continues to loudly call for a cease fire, and the protection of
civilians.

The use of terrorists to fulfill its aims is not a new part of US
policy. The US has backed violent, para-military forces all
throughout Latin America. Currently the US is harboring Luis
Posada Carriles, a terrorist who bombed a Cuban airliner killing
over 70 people. Violent groups in Venezuela that seek to
destabilize and overthrow the United Socialist Party are also
receiving US support.

In recent years, the US has worked to support the People’s
Mujahedeen, a group of anti-Iranian terrorists. The group has a
long history of violence and terror, and even killed a US army
general. However, now that the primary target of the People’s
Mujahedeen is not the United States, but the Islamic Republic of
Iran, the US is happy to facilitate their activities. John
McCain, Tom Ridge, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
have all raised money for the People’s Mujahedeen, and promoted
their cause internationally. The group has been removed from the
official Justice Department list of “Foreign Terrorist
Organizations.”

It is currently the regimes that the US opposes like Iran,
Russia, Syria, Venezuela, and Cuba that are pushing for a global
effort against terrorism. The United States, with its actions in
the Middle East, Latin America, and elsewhere that is
undisputedly the primary “state sponsor of terror.”

The dangerous drive for war

In the early 1970s, Chinese leader Mao Zedong assessed the
international situation saying “revolution is the main trend
in the world today.” At that time there was a global trend
of armed struggle against the US and its allies, by
anti-imperialist and anti-colonial movements.

The current period is drastically different. In the current
period, the colonized and oppressed countries are not engaged in
an offensive revolt against US and European domination. It is
rather the opposite.

Countries like Iran, Syria, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela are
seeking simply to peacefully co-exist. They are striving to have
normal diplomatic relations, to trade with the United States, and
to exist as an equal and independent part of the global economy.

The policy of the United States has been to force conflict on
these states. If there is a government that cannot be totally
controlled, no matter how much it appeases and cooperates with
the US, it simply is not tolerated. The policy of the US to force
these countries into a corner, threaten them until they finally
are forced to push back as an act of basic self-preservation. At
this moment, the US then declares such states to be
“hostile” and “belligerent” as justification
for more attacks and provocations against them.

In the modern world of drones, nuclear warheads, and the huge
growing apparatus of destruction, peace is a necessity for
humanity. The people of the world rightly want peace, but the
United States and its allies will simply not allow it.

No matter how much effort is made to appease them, they will
simply not be appeased.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.